Slow-Cooked: Arriving next week!
I’m on pins and needles. The official publication date for my forthcoming memoir is October 4.
I’m on pins and needles. The official publication date for my forthcoming memoir is October 4.
Despite chaotic organization (see note below), the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health was inspiring (you can watch it on YouTube here). It was exciting to be in the room where it happened, as you can see from my photo-taking (courtesy of tweet by Suzanna Martinez).
The conference had a laser-like focus on ending hunger and hunger inequities. Although there was much talk of diet-related diseases, it was not at all about preventing obesity and its chronic disease consequences in the general population. Instead, its aim was to make sure that poor people, especially those of color, have access to healthy, culturally appropriate diets at a price they can afford.
Common themes
Bipartisan: Ending hunger has to be a united effort (Republicans were barely represented, but not for lack of trying)
Diet-related disease: none of us ever expected to hear that phrase from high elected officials, let alone POTUS
Lived experience: Many of the panels included people who had grown up on foods stamps, and President Biden was introduced by Jimmieaka Mills of Houston, TX (her name was not listed in the program; I found it on Twitter) who spoke eloquently of how much food assistance meant to her life.
Food at the center: it must stop being an afterthought.
Food as Medicine: This refers to the health care system’s use of food prescriptions or distributions. Alhough his idea is sometimes perceived as paternalistic—food should really be about pleasure and culture (see ConscienHealth)—it plays well politically.
Impressions
Almost everything related to the conference is on the website. My reactions.
How it felt: It was a joy to see old friends and colleagues who care deeply about food and preventing hunger. We hadn’t seen each other since before the pandemic. Hugs all around.
The tone: This was a packed auditorium with a standing room audience, happy to be there, appreciative, and enthusiastic.
The love: Almost everyone thanked Congressman Jim McGovern who has tried to get this conference held for years. He got—and deserved—standing ovations.
The speeches
The President: Biden mostly reiterated the main points of the National Strategy, but insisted on the value of the Child Tax Credit (see my previous post on this). This got a standing ovation (along with a couple of others). Ending food insecurity, he said, is a way to treat each other with decency.
Jim McGovern: When he worked with George McGovern (no relation, a Democrat) and Republican Bob Dole on food issues, ending hunger was a bipartisan goal. Now, 35 million Americans needi food assistance; hunger should be illegal.
Cory Booker: Americans are in the midst of a storm of diet-related disease. Congress will hold hearings on Food as Medicine. We need to put the F back in FDA (ovation).
The plenary panel
Debbie Stabenow, who heads the Senate Ag Committee; “We will not cut SNAP.”
Rosa de Lauro, who heads the House appropriations committee: “I like holding the gavel. We will fund what we need to.”
Eric Adams, mayor of New York City: “We are making healthy eating the default.”
The major speech
José Andrés: This was the major political speech of the conference: the problem, the moral imperative, and the policies needed (ovation). My favorite line: “We must stop giving breadcrumbs and start building bakeries.”
My assessment
The conference put hunger on the agenda of Susan Rice, who heads Biden’s Domestic Policy Council (and who stayed throughout the entire meeting), and on that of the President himself.
Will it lead to real change? Will it improve the current situation? Will it lead to reduced hunger?
Not without public pressure, I’m guessing.
A note on the organizational chaos: last-minute invitations (mine arrived Sunday night after 9:00 p.m. and Eric Adams’ staff, who attended, never did get theirs; no advance schedule until a couple of days before, when it was still quite vague; a 6:00 a.m. announcement to be there at 7:30 to register because security lines would be long; badge printers that didn’t work; no printed program; no clear listing of speakers and times; auditorium too small for audience (most were in overflow room); a mystery as to who was in charge—a committee of the Domestic Policy Council, apparently. Still, it all worked!
A note on the meals and swag: The James Beard Foundation arranged the lunch—vegan, bison, or chicken. These were packed in heavy plastic lunch trays, later washed and packed along with cutlery into Oxo bags given to participants. The only real souvenir is the name badge, to be treasured.
A note on Biden’s blooper: He called out Jackie Walorsky— “Where’s Jackie?” — which got gasps from people who knew she had died in a traffic accident in August. Later, a video tribute to her brought people to tears.
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Coming soon! My memoir, October 4.
For 30% off, go to www.ucpress.edu/9780520384156. Use code 21W2240 at checkout.
The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition & Health is convening today. As a reminder of why it matters, here’s what’s happening with the much-needed reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Bill.
The reauthorization bill, required every five years, was introduced in the House in July as H.R.5919 – Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act of 2021. If and when passed, it will:
The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) offers:
I’m hoping the White House Strategy announced today will include these elements for reducing childhood hunger.
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Coming soon! My memoir, October 4.
For 30% off, go to www.ucpress.edu/9780520384156. Use code 21W2240 at checkout.
At 9:09 on Sunday night, I received a rather lat-minute invitation to this conference. I think it’s worth going to, and will.
Whatever it turns out to be, this will be an historic occasion.
Almost everything public about it is on the conference website.
Here’s what it says will happen:
On Wednesday, September 28, the Biden-Harris Administration will host the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The Administration will also release a National Strategy with actions the federal government will take to drive solutions to these challenges.
As it happens, the White House released The Biden-Harris Administration National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health yesterday. I will say more about this tomorrow, but here’s a summary of Pillar 1:
Improving food access and affordability, including by advancing economic security; increasing access to free and nourishing school meals; providing Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) benefits to more children; and expanding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility to more underserved populations.
The opening speakers have been announced:
- President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
- Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff
- Ambassador Susan E. Rice, White House Domestic Policy Advisor
- Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
- Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra
- Chef José Andrés
It can be watched online:
It will be interesting to see what the National Strategy might be, and what emerges from the conference.
In the meantime, to inform the conference:
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Coming soon! My memoir, October 4.
For 30% off, go to www.ucpress.edu/9780520384156. Use code 21W2240 at checkout.
I so appreciate the Obesity and Energetics newsletter that comes out every week, and particularly its occasional listing of “Headlines versus Study.” This one is from a couple of months ago, but I am just getting to it.
This is a classic example of putting a favorable spin on no-effect results. The study was NOT funded by the avocado industry and I cannot find a Haas Avocado Board comment on it.
The authors were quite clear about “no effect.” The press release is another matter.
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Coming soon! My memoir, October 4.
For 30% off, go to www.ucpress.edu/9780520384156. Use code 21W2240 at checkout.
Out October 4. For 30% off, go to www.ucpress.edu/9780520384156. Use code 21W2240 at checkout.
I’m thrilled and grateful for the blurbs on my forthcoming memoir. Thanks!
I subscribe to the British-based newsletter, Food Navigator. It occasionally publishes roundups of articles on specific topics. Here’s a sample of articles about current happenings in the meat industry.
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Coming soon! My memoir, October 4.
For 30% off, go to www.ucpress.edu/9780520384156. Use code 21W2240 at checkout.
Everything I know for sure about the White House Conference on September 28 is at its website.
It has a classy logo:
It has some details.
It has a link to view the conference online and let them know if you plan to host a Watch Party or Satellite Event.
It has a link to the conference agenda (it’s there, but still vague).
It has a toolkit for running satellite events.
Everything else I know about it is rumor and hearsay—who has been invited (not me, although I am , oddly, invited to a reception the night before); who is speaking (not me), what will be discussed, what will be announced.
Not helpful? More to come when I know more.
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Coming soon! My memoir, October 4.
For 30% off, go to www.ucpress.edu/9780520384156. Use code 21W2240 at checkout.